During the Salem Witch Trials, when Corey was 80 years old, Martha -- a very religious and outspoken woman, who'd been against the trials from the very beginning -- began questioning whether the girls accusing people of being witches were just making stories up. Unsurprisingly, she was soon accused by the girls of being a witch. While she was being questioned by John Hathorne, the girls claimed she was using her powers to bite, scratch, and strangle them, and Ann Putnam claimed that she had seen Martha praying to Satan. Based on the girls' testimony, Martha was jailed.

Giles, of course, knew that his wife was innocent, so he began speaking against the girls whose testimony was putting so many people in jail. And lo and behold, he was also subsequently accused of practicing witchcraft. Putnam and the other girls claimed that Giles sent his spirit out to torment them. After he was interrogated, he sat in prison with his wife for five months awaiting his trial.

On September 19th, Corey was stripped naked, and a board was placed upon his chest. Large rocks and stones were piled onto the board, which began to slowly crush him. He demanded more weight be piled onto the board -- rather than the gesture of defiance that this has been romanticized as, this was more likely a practical concern: with more weight, death would come -- and the torture be ended -- more quickly. Nevertheless, it took Corey two days to die. He was buried in an unmarked grave on Gallows Hill. Martha Corey was hanged on September 22nd.